Memorial University’s strength in ocean research, teaching and learning and public engagement didn’t just happen.
It’s the result of nearly 100 years of working in some of the Earth’s coldest, wettest and harshest environments.
Our geography has influenced us — our society and our university — for generations, and we continue to strive to understand and protect the body of water that surrounds us and inspires us in so much of what we do.
During Global Goals Week running Sept. 20-29, Memorial is looking back on its work supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal No. 14: Life Below Water.
World-class and unique
More than 40 per cent of Memorial’s research is ocean-related and not just in the obvious places.
From medicine to geography, engineering to folklore, archaeology to chemistry, and so much more, Memorial has hundreds of faculty, researchers, students and community partners engaged in oceans-related activity.
As one of Canada’s top 20 research universities, Memorial also houses numerous world-class centres for research, teaching and learning and public engagement related to the ocean.
We have unique facilities, equipment and programs that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
As a result of this expertise and ongoing collaboration with our community partners, Memorial has once again received positive results in the latest Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which measure the impact of universities in contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Specifically, Memorial ranks among the top 50 universities worldwide for its leadership in addressing issues related to Life Below Water (goal No. 14) – placing No. 49 out of 628 universities.
This means Memorial is considered an international leader in advancing sustainable management of marine resources, protecting coastal ecosystems and combating marine pollution.
Globally, Memorial is recognized as a leader in other areas, too.
We rank 80th in the world – out of 1,018 institutions – for goal No. 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and 49th in the world – out of 2,031 institutions – for goal No. 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Read on to find a number of Gazette stories that showcase some of Memorial’s activities and strengths related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 14: Life Below Water.
Piece of the puzzle
Dr. Benjamin Misiuk, jointly appointed between the Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, is working on mapping the sea floor of the northwest Atlantic.
He was recently awarded funding for his team to collect sea floor samples from previously uncharted areas, something that is needed to effectively conserve and manage marine resources, including fisheries.
Read more here.
Deep learning
Ocean Data Specialist Comfort Eboigbe, who is based at the Centre for Applied Ocean Technology at the Marine Institute, is working with artificial intelligence (AI) to make marine research more efficient.
By training an open-source, AI model to detect objects and animals in videos, Ms. Eboigbe’s model will save researchers hundreds — if not thousands — of hours reviewing footage. Read more here.
Environmental entrepreneur
Doctoral candidate Abdul-Latif Alhassan is enrolled in the transdisciplinary sustainability program in the School of Science and the Environment at Grenfell Campus.
He operates not one, but two businesses, both of which are making lasting and positive impacts on our marine environment.
Read more here.
Space to sea
Dr. Patrick Gagnon is the head of the Department of Ocean Sciences in the Faculty of Science at Memorial.
He is leading a team that is using Canada’s satellites to study our oceans’ resources. In particular, Dr. Gagnon is studying kelp, which contributes significantly to carbon capture.
Read more here.
Northern network
Memorial has a longstanding and meaningful partnership with the University of the Arctic, a network of universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the North.
This includes collaborations between University of the Arctic partners and Memorial researchers such as Dr. Bing Chen, based in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, who is the University of the Arctic chair in marine and coastal environmental engineering, and Dr. Scott Neilsen’s work, who is based at the Labrador Campus, with Indigenous groups in the North.
Read more here.
Entrepreneurial legacy
Two student-led startups focused on sustainable opportunities in aquaculture were the winners of the eighth annual Mel Woodward Cup, held in March 2024.
Dante Enewold took the top prize for his business, Atlantic BioCorp, which converts crab waste into chitosan, which can be used in drug manufacturing, skin care products and more.
Runner-up Jessika Lamarre was rewarded for her business, Invertable, which is developing a land-based fish feed made of insects, as an alternative to using wild stocks to feed farmed fish.
Read more here.
Summer at sea
Students and researchers from the Marine Institute recently partnered with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to monitor activity in marine conservation areas, which protect important species, habitats and ecosystem.
Read more here.
Beyond the academic path
Drs. Hodjat Shiri and Hamed Azimisiahchaghaei, from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, are working with a team to develop a tool that protects offshore and subsea structures from potential iceberg threats.
Significantly, this tool will not only accurately predict iceberg drafts (the thickness of icebergs below the water), improving safety for offshore structures, but it will also be more sustainable and environmentally friendly than other operations, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing the structures’ carbon footprint.
Read more here.
Sense, assess, and mitigate
A Memorial research team recently took part in fieldwork in Baffin Bay in the region of the largest natural ocean oil and gas seep in Canada.
There, they gained insights into how autonomous underwater vehicles can detect oil spills and other sensed pollutants in harsh ocean conditions.
Read more here.
